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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Acanthamoebakeratitis is an aggressive and rapidly progressing ocular pathology whosemain risk factor is the use of contact lenses. An early and differential diagnosis is considered themain factor to prevent the progression and improve the prognosis of the pathology. However, currentdiagnosis techniques require time, complex and costly materials making an early diagnosis challeng-ing. Thus, there is a need for fast, accessible, and accurate methods forAcanthamoebadetection bypractitioners for timely and suitable treatment and even for contact lens user as preventive diagnosis.Here, we developed a dual-mode colorimetric-based method for fast, visual, and accurate detectionofAcanthamoebausing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). For this strategy, AuNPs were functionalizedwith thiolated probes and the presence of targetAcanthamoebagenomic sequences, produce a colori-metric change from red to purple. This approach allows the detection of 0.02 and 0.009μM of theunamplifiedAcanthamoebagenome by the naked eye in less than 20 min and by color analysis usinga smartphone. Additionally, real samples were successfully analyzed showing the potential of thetechnology considering the lack of point-of-care tools that are mostly needed.
Description
Keywords
Acanthamoeba Acanthamoebakeratitis Gold nanoparticles Colorimetric assay Color coordinates Optical detection
Citation
Publisher
MDPI